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"Warriors of the Working-Day" Class in Shakespeare's Second Historical Trilogy Richard Brooke Morrill Universtiy of Maine - Main

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The University of Maine DigitalCommons@UMaine Electronic Theses and Dissertations Fogler Library 2004 "Warriors of the Working-day" Class in Shakespeare's Second Historical Trilogy Richard Brooke Morrill Universtiy of Maine - Main Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/etd Part of the English Language and Literature Commons Recommended Citation Morrill, Richard Brooke, ""Warriors of the Working-day" Class in Shakespeare's Second Historical Trilogy" (2004). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 25. http://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/etd/25 This Open-Access Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by DigitalCommons@UMaine. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@UMaine. Warriors of the Working-day" Class in Shakespeare's Second Historical Tetralogy BY Richard Brooke Mom11 Jr. B.A. Rutgers University, 2002 A THESIS Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts (in English) The Graduate School The University of Maine May, 2004 Advisory Committee: Richard T. Brucher, Associate Professor of English, Advisor Burton N. Hatlen, Professor of English R. Tony Brinkley, Department Chair, Associate Professor of English Paul Bauschatz, Associate Professor of English Tarriors of the Working-day" Class in Shakespeare's Second Historical Tetralogy By Richard Brooke Morrill Jr. Thesis Advisor: Dr. Richard T. Brucher An Abstract of the Thesis Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts (in English) May, 2004 In Shakespeare's historical plays, we find the traditional and politically "top-heavy" historic events of monarchs, aristocrats and patriarchs, of national and international politics and of wars, civil and foreign. This is the type of practice that E.P. Thompson was challenging when he coined the polemic phrase "history from below." It is necessary, Thompson says, to rethink historiography as a means of creating national identity because of its inherent lack of sociopolitical objectivity, particularly with respect to class. "It is one of the peculiarities of the English," he writes, "that the history of the 'common people' has always been something other than-and distinct from-English History Proper."' In other words, English History has not been the history of the English per se, but rather the history of only the most powerful political, cultural and economic persons and events to affect the country; little room E.P. Thompson, "History from Belown in The EssenaadE.P.li5ompson, Ed. Dorothy Thompson. (New York: The New Press, 2001.) remains for the so-called common people. Thompson goes on to say that "in English History Proper the people of this island . appear as one of the problems Government has had to handle."2 Indeed, Shakespeare's sources seem to bear this out; however, his plays demonstrate a certain social sensibility that recognizes plebeian characters in ways that markedly deviate from the source material. For example, all of Shakespeare's more or less non-revolutionary inhabitants of Eastcheap are the author's own creation and do not occur in Holinshed or HalL3 Jack Cade, who leads a violent insurrection against the aristocracy, however, does. In Shakespeare, English History Proper seems to be enriched by the inclusion of fair and peaceable representations of plebeian classes in a way that increases the dramatic effect of the plays. This part of Shakespeare's technique is especially prominent in his second historical cycle. It is in these plays that we most see these types of figures in circumstances unlike those afforded us by traditional historiographers. Despite their requisite comic antics, we are allowed to see common people as fleshed out characters who are defined not by their "antagonism to orthodoxy," but as integral components of a nation. This technique affords us both a fair if not realistic or accurate literary representation of the third estate and the opportunity to witness the political squabbling of the monarchy and aristocracy through the eyes of those who must inevitably fight the wars begun at court. Ibid. Shakespeare's aesthetic sensibility apparently includes a consciousness of the social contradictions inherent in his culture and the limits of any historical worldview that prioritizes economic and political power and ignores the reality of the third estate. This quality infuses the plays with a sense of the social and moral consequences of absolutist monarchy as a subjective ideology. The playwright seems to have been at least tacitly aware that the people whom his society and its historical records considered socially, politically and economically ineffectual actually did have a considerable and very real efficacy in the historical trajectory that created the Elizabethan world. Shakespeare felt it necessary to include them in his public reenactment of the creation of that world-which is to say, in his own historiographic project. For my grandparents, Frank George Servis and Arlene Joan Servis, and for my mother, Cynthia Ann Papiez, with love and gratitude. Acknowledgements I especially want to thank Professor Richard Brucher whose compassionate and insightful guidance made writing this project a pleasure. Professor Brucher's perfect combination of academic seriousness and warm sense of humor has been an inspiration to me throughout this process. Thank you! My gratitude also goes to Professor Burt Hatlen for giving invaluable advice at the beginning stages of this project and throughout. Thanks also go to Professors Paul Bauschatz and Tony Brinkley, as well as to Professor Pat Burnes. I would also like to take this time to acknowledge the friendship and support I have received from my many colleagues at the University of Maine over the past couple of years. Special thanks goes to Arlo Quint his advice and his willingness to talk about project directions and ideas, as well as to Ben Lareau, Melissa Harris, Justin Andrews, Andrew McDonnell, Lori Bird, Michael Roberson, Rachel Lee, Joe Arsenault, Leonore Hildebrandt, Tabitha Turri, Rebecca Silverman, Kyle Souza, Ben Shockey, Joshua Johnston, Mandy Lancaster, Claire Howard, Hal Abbott, Brian Carpenter, Matthew Schurnacher, Jon Jacesko, Margaretha Haughwout, Julie Pemn, Christa Combellick and especially Adam Crowley. I've have learned so much from all of you. Thank you. Extra special thanks go to Sarah Ruddy, my closest office-mate and friend. My family has been extremely supportive through this process and has been consistently ready and willing to listen to me talk with patience and love. My brother, Ryan Morrill, in particular, has been an invaluable resource. Ryan was willing to put aside time to read drafts of this thesis and to discuss its merits and deficiencies. Ryan was an enthusiastic reader of Shakespeare long before ever I was. Lucky for me he forgot to "call it." Thank you! Finally, I cannot say express deeply enough how much I value the love, friendship, and support I received from my wife, Melanie Morrill. From the very beginning, Melanie was willing to listen to my ideas for this project and discuss them critically, whether I liked it or not. In this paper, as in all aspects of my life, her influence can be found throughout and I am eternally grateful. Table of Contents .. Dedication........................................................................................... .ii ... Acknowledgements................................................................................. iu Textual Note and List of Abbreviations...................................................... ...vi .. Preface............................................................................................... .mi Part I. Shakespeare's Historiographic Project................................................... 1 Part 11. fie Tragedie offig Richard the Second. ...........................................20 Part 111. fie Histork ofHenry the Fod(Pam Iand I.................................. ..49 Part IV. fie CronkIe Histoqy ofHenry the Fifi .............................................79 Part V. Staging the Historical Epic.............................................................. 118 Bibliography...................................................................................... -128 Biography of the Author....................................................................... -136 Textual Note and List of Abbreviations All references to Shakespearean texts come from 73e Riverside Shakespeare, Text. Ed. G. Blackrnore Evans. Gen. Ed. Harry Levin. (Boston: Houghton Mi& Co., 1974.) I shall refer to the editorial and spelling decisions of this edition throughout with one variance: except in quotation, I will be using the modernized and more conventional spelling of "Bolingbroke." Additionally, I will be adhering to the following abbreviations of the titles of Shakespeare's plays: MND - A Miakummer N~ght's Dream R2 - 73e Tragedie offig Richard the Second IH4 - 73e Hhtone ofHemy II.: Part One 2H4 - 73e Hhtone ofHemy II.: Part- Two H5 - 73e Cronide Histov ofHemy the Fa MWW- 73e Meny Wives of Windsor Preface Let me speakproudly: teU the constable We are but wmomfor the working-da~ (H5,IV.iii. 11. 108-9) I have had it in mind to write a serious exploration of Shakespeare's history for a number of years, and I have assumed that I would dedicate my master's thesis to this task for most of that time. However, certain events took place in the historical world that I
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